** The lightning bolt makeup he wore for the ''Music/AladdinSane'' cover and inner sleeve is probably his single most-referenced "look" in pop culture.

to:

** The lightning bolt makeup he wore for the ''Music/AladdinSane'' cover and inner sleeve is probably his single most-referenced "look" in pop culture. This look has been immortalised in the [[http://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2013/06/brixtons-david-bowie-aladdin-sane-mural-update-new-photos-and-interview-with-the-artist/ David Bowie Mural]] on the side of Morleys department store in Brixton, south London (in a pedestrian area, but can just barely be seen on Google Street View from the right position).

As soon as the world learned of Bowie's death, [[http://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2016/01/big-crowds-gather-around-the-david-bowie-mural-in-brixton/ crowds and TV crews from throughout the world gathered at the "Aladdin Sane" mural opposite Brixton Station in south London]], which immediately became a shrine and remains so to this day.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Some of his identities have been bi, but the man himself? He was probably at least bicurious or "heteroflexible," [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie#Sexuality but it's complicated]], especially due to Bowie's repeated FlipFlopOfGod on the matter.

to:

* AmbiguouslyBi: Some of his identities have been bi, but the man himself? He was probably at least bicurious or "heteroflexible," bicurious, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie#Sexuality but it's complicated]], especially due to Bowie's repeated FlipFlopOfGod on the matter.

Although his recording career began in [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion 1964]]  he released numerous singles (which are collected on the 1991 compilation ''Early On'') and an album during the middle years of TheSixties  David Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in the autumn of 1969, when his space-age mini-melodrama "Space Oddity" (from ''David Bowie'' - now better known as ''Music/SpaceOddity'') reached the top five of the UK singles chart. After a three-year period of experimentation he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era as the flamboyant, androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust, spearheaded by the hit single "Starman" and the album ''Music/TheRiseAndFallOfZiggyStardustAndTheSpidersFromMars''. The relatively short-lived Ziggy persona (about eighteen months) epitomised a career often marked by musical innovation, re-invention and striking visual presentation. He also produced Music/LouReed's album ''Music/{{Transformer}}'' around the same time.

to:

Although his recording career began in [[UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion 1964]]  -- he released numerous singles (which are collected on the 1991 compilation ''Early On'') and an album during the middle years of TheSixties  -- David Bowie first caught the eye and ear of the public in the autumn of 1969, when his space-age mini-melodrama "Space Oddity" (from ''David Bowie'' - -- now better known as ''Music/SpaceOddity'') reached the top five of the UK singles chart. After a three-year period of experimentation he re-emerged in 1972 during the glam rock era as the flamboyant, androgynous alter ego Ziggy Stardust, spearheaded by the hit single "Starman" and the album ''Music/TheRiseAndFallOfZiggyStardustAndTheSpidersFromMars''. The relatively short-lived Ziggy persona (about eighteen months) epitomised a career often marked by musical innovation, re-invention and striking visual presentation. He also produced Music/LouReed's album ''Music/{{Transformer}}'' around the same time.

Not entirely sure what to do next, he spent about a year continuing his funk-influenced act (while, at the same time, starting to show some influences from [[{{Krautrock}} German bands]] like Music/{{Kraftwerk}} and Music/{{Neu}}) with his last "character", The Thin White Duke (showcased on his critically and commercially successful album ''Music/StationToStation''), a bizarre, thin, well-dressed European aristocrat who  [[CreatorBreakdown much as Bowie himself did at this point]]  survived primarily on "red peppers, cocaine, and milk." He then confounded the expectations of both his record label and his American audiences by recording the minimalist album ''[[Music/LowDavidBowieAlbum Low]]'' in 1977  the first of three collaborations with Music/BrianEno and Tony Visconti over the next two years. (The other two being ''"Music/{{Heroes}}"'' later in '77 and ''Music/{{Lodger}}'' in 1979.) Arguably his most experimental works (until his last album, anyway), the so-called "Berlin Trilogy" albums (named for his place of residence during this period as he pulled himself out of addiction, although significant portions of ''Low'' and ''Lodger'' were actually recorded elsewhere) all reached the UK Top Five, though their overall critical and commercial success was uneven (''"Heroes"'' was well-regarded by critics at the time; the other two were not). The albums have since become VindicatedByHistory and are regarded as some of Bowie's strongest works. Around the same time he also produced Music/TheStooges' ''Music/RawPower'' from 1973 and Music/IggyPop's solo albums ''Music/TheIdiot'' and ''Music/LustForLife'', both from 1977, all of which have been canonised as classics.

Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single "Ashes to Ashes" and its parent album, ''Music/ScaryMonstersAndSuperCreeps''. He paired with Music/{{Queen}} for the 1981 UK chart-topper "Under Pressure", but consolidated his commercial  and, until then, most profitable  sound in 1983 with the album ''Music/LetsDance'', which yielded the hit singles "Let's Dance", "China Girl" (a cover of an Music/IggyPop song from ''Music/TheIdiot'' which he co-wrote), and "Modern Love".

to:

Not entirely sure what to do next, he spent about a year continuing his funk-influenced act (while, at the same time, starting to show some influences from [[{{Krautrock}} German bands]] like Music/{{Kraftwerk}} and Music/{{Neu}}) with his last "character", The Thin White Duke (showcased on his critically and commercially successful album ''Music/StationToStation''), a bizarre, thin, well-dressed European aristocrat who  -- [[CreatorBreakdown much as Bowie himself did at this point]]  -- survived primarily on "red peppers, cocaine, and milk." He then confounded the expectations of both his record label and his American audiences by recording the minimalist album ''[[Music/LowDavidBowieAlbum Low]]'' in 1977  -- the first of three collaborations with Music/BrianEno and Tony Visconti over the next two years. (The other two being ''"Music/{{Heroes}}"'' later in '77 and ''Music/{{Lodger}}'' in 1979.) Arguably his most experimental works (until his last album, anyway), the so-called "Berlin Trilogy" albums (named for his place of residence during this period as he pulled himself out of addiction, although significant portions of ''Low'' and ''Lodger'' were actually recorded elsewhere) all reached the UK Top Five, though their overall critical and commercial success was uneven (''"Heroes"'' was well-regarded by critics at the time; the other two were not). The albums have since become VindicatedByHistory and are regarded as some of Bowie's strongest works. Around the same time he also produced Music/TheStooges' ''Music/RawPower'' from 1973 and Music/IggyPop's solo albums ''Music/TheIdiot'' and ''Music/LustForLife'', both from 1977, all of which have been canonised as classics.

Bowie had UK number ones with the 1980 single "Ashes to Ashes" and its parent album, ''Music/ScaryMonstersAndSuperCreeps''. He paired with Music/{{Queen}} for the 1981 UK chart-topper "Under Pressure", but consolidated his commercial  -- and, until then, most profitable  -- sound in 1983 with the album ''Music/LetsDance'', which yielded the hit singles "Let's Dance", "China Girl" (a cover of an Music/IggyPop song from ''Music/TheIdiot'' which he co-wrote), and "Modern Love".

He stayed with the commercial sound of ''Let's Dance'' for two more albums: 1984's ''Tonight'' and 1987's ''Never Let Me Down''. Although both were successful commerically, they were unpopular critically speaking. Eventually Bowie, [[CreatorBacklash dissatisfied with the results]], moved on to front the (ahem) short-lived rock band Tin Machine. Since then the following albums were released to increasing critical acclaim as the TurnOfTheMillennium arrived.

In TheNineties, Bowie returned to solo work with 1993's ''Black Tie White Noise'', an electronic/jazz/house hybrid album which yielded another Top 10 single in "Jump They Say". At the end of the year he would go to provide the music for the BBC mini-series ''The Buddha of Suburbia'', which was also released as an album. 1994-5 saw Bowie reunite with Eno to produce ''1. Music/{{Outside}}'', a much DarkerAndEdgier Industrial RockOpera which explored the concept of death by art. Slated to have two follow-ups, 1997 saw Bowie issue ''Music/{{Earthling}}'', which explored DrumNBass. The song "I'm Afraid of Americans" was notable for being remixed by Music/NineInchNails and issued as a single. Trent Reznor also featured in the video as a stalker tracking down a paranoid Bowie.

After successfully embracing a variety a of different genres. 1999's'' 'Music/{{hours}}...' '', saw Bowie settle into his "neo-classicist" phase. He planned to release an album covering his sixties period in 2001. Termed ''Toy'', issues with his record company led to the project being shelved, with a couple of new songs finding their way onto 2002's ''Music/{{Heathen}}'' instead. ''Heathen'' also reunited Bowie with Tony Visconti, with the team going on to produce the rest of his albums. ''Music/{{Reality}}'' was released in 2003, which saw Bowie embark on a major worldwide tour. However, emergency heart surgery in 2004 forced him to cut the tour short, resulting in him making fewer and fewer concert, film, etc. appearances.

By TheNewTens he was an apparently-retired ReclusiveArtist, until January 8 2013 (his 66th birthday), when he announced a new album (''Music/TheNextDay'') and presented its first song and video online. He no longer performed live or granted interviews by that stage. While he would not appear onstage, his next major project ''Lazarus'' (a musical stage play co-written with Enda Walsh, InspiredBy the source novel for ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'') was set to debut off-Broadway in late 2015. It was followed by what would turn out to be his final studio album, ''★''[[note]]pronounced ''Blackstar''[[/note]], released on his 69th birthday in January 2016. Two days after its release, Bowie passed away after an eighteen-month battle with liver cancer. Two weeks later NASA immediately discovered a planet in some other galaxy. You do the math.

Bowie and his work have been [[ShoutOut referenced]], [[AffectionateParody parodied]], and [[MemeticBadass otherwise]] in a colourful variety of works. The 1998 film ''Film/VelvetGoldmine'' presents a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed take on Bowie's glam rock years. He's portrayed as a shape-shifting anti-villain in ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "The Waters of Mars" has a Bowie Base One on the Red Planet, the villains of one ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow episode]] are known as Diamond Dogs, etc. Two of his songs informed, and became the titles of, a very successful Creator/{{BBC}} series and its follow-up in the new millennium (namely, ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}}'' and ''Series/AshesToAshes''). At the 2012 UsefulNotes/OlympicGames in London, the closing stretch of the opening ceremony's Parade of Nations had Great Britain's team marching to ""Heroes"", which became the team's unofficial theme song. And he's a popular subject for RealPersonFic, while his various characters turn up in fics of their own.

to:

He stayed with the commercial sound of ''Let's Dance'' for two more albums: 1984's ''Tonight'' and 1987's ''Never Let Me Down''. Although both were successful commerically, commercially, they were unpopular critically speaking. Eventually Bowie, [[CreatorBacklash dissatisfied with the results]], moved on to front the (ahem) short-lived rock band Tin Machine. Since then the following albums were released to increasing critical acclaim as the TurnOfTheMillennium arrived.

In TheNineties, Bowie returned to solo work with 1993's ''Black Tie White Noise'', an electronic/jazz/house electronic / jazz / house hybrid album which yielded another Top 10 single in "Jump They Say". At the end of the year he would go to provide the music for the BBC mini-series ''The Buddha of Suburbia'', which was also released as an album. 1994-5 saw Bowie reunite with Eno to produce ''1. Music/{{Outside}}'', a much DarkerAndEdgier Industrial RockOpera which explored the concept of death by art. Slated to have two follow-ups, 1997 saw Bowie issue ''Music/{{Earthling}}'', which explored DrumNBass. The song "I'm Afraid of Americans" was notable for being remixed by Music/NineInchNails and issued as a single. Trent Reznor also featured in the video as a stalker tracking down a paranoid Bowie.

After successfully embracing a variety a of different genres. 1999's'' 'Music/{{hours}}...' '', saw Bowie settle into his "neo-classicist" phase. He planned to release an album covering his sixties period in 2001. Termed ''Toy'', issues with his record company led to the project being shelved, with a couple of new songs finding their way onto 2002's ''Music/{{Heathen}}'' instead. ''Heathen'' also reunited Bowie with Tony Visconti, with the team going on to produce the rest of his albums. ''Music/{{Reality}}'' was released in 2003, which saw Bowie embark on a major worldwide tour. However, emergency heart surgery in 2004 forced him to cut the tour short, resulting in him making fewer and fewer concert, film, etc. appearances.

appearances.

By TheNewTens he was an apparently-retired ReclusiveArtist, until January 8 2013 (his 66th birthday), when he announced a new album (''Music/TheNextDay'') and presented its first song and video online. He no longer performed live or granted interviews by that stage. While he would not appear onstage, his next major project ''Lazarus'' (a musical stage play co-written with Enda Walsh, InspiredBy the source novel for ''The Man Who Fell to Earth'') was set to debut off-Broadway in late 2015. It was followed by what would turn out to be his final studio album, ''★''[[note]]pronounced ''Blackstar''[[/note]], ''★'' [[note]] pronounced ''Blackstar'' [[/note]], released on his 69th birthday in January 2016. Two days after its release, Bowie passed away after an eighteen-month battle with liver cancer. Two weeks later NASA immediately discovered a planet in some other galaxy. You do the math.

Bowie and his work have been [[ShoutOut referenced]], [[AffectionateParody parodied]], and [[MemeticBadass otherwise]] in a colourful variety of works. The 1998 film ''Film/VelvetGoldmine'' presents a NoCelebritiesWereHarmed take on Bowie's glam rock years. He's portrayed as a shape-shifting anti-villain in ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story "The Waters of Mars" has a Bowie Base One on the Red Planet, the villains of one ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E19ADogAndPonyShow episode]] are known as Diamond Dogs, etc. Two of his songs informed, and became the titles of, a very successful Creator/{{BBC}} series and its follow-up in the new millennium (namely, ''Series/{{Life On on Mars|2006}}'' and ''Series/AshesToAshes''). At the 2012 UsefulNotes/OlympicGames in London, the closing stretch of the opening ceremony's Parade of Nations had Great Britain's team marching to ""Heroes"", which became the team's unofficial theme song. And he's a popular subject for RealPersonFic, while his various characters turn up in fics of their own.

* AdamWesting: His appearance on ''Series/{{Extras}}'' has become a small classic ("Little fat man who sold his soul "), but years before that there was the long-form video[=/=]ShortFilm ''Jazzin' for Blue Jean'' (1984). One of his [[ActingForTwo two characters]], flamboyant but snotty Screamin' Lord Byron, is a sendup of his '70s personas and excesses.

to:

* AdamWesting: His appearance on ''Series/{{Extras}}'' has become a small classic ("Little fat man who sold his soul "), soul..."), but years before that there was the long-form video[=/=]ShortFilm video / ShortFilm ''Jazzin' for Blue Jean'' (1984). One of his [[ActingForTwo two characters]], flamboyant but snotty Screamin' Lord Byron, is a sendup of his '70s personas and excesses.

* AlasPoorYorick: Parodied in the live performances of "Cracked Actor" on his 1974 and '83 tours  as per the song's title, he was dressed as a hybrid of Hamlet and a Hollywood star and "filmed" as he sang to a prop skull. The segment climaxed with him ''French-kissing'' it in '74; in '83 he tried to do so but his stagehands stepped in to stop ''that'' nonsense.* AlbumIntroTrack

to:

* AlasPoorYorick: Parodied in the live performances of "Cracked Actor" on his 1974 and '83 tours  -- as per the song's title, he was dressed as a hybrid of Hamlet and a Hollywood star and "filmed" as he sang to a prop skull. The segment climaxed with him ''French-kissing'' it in '74; in '83 he tried to do so but his stagehands stepped in to stop ''that'' nonsense.* AlbumIntroTrackAlbumIntroTrack:

* BookWorm: He couldn't bear to travel in TheSeventies without at least a trunk full of books, and once put a list up at Bowienet of his favorite recently-read/re-read books with 51 titles on it!** In 2013 he posted to his Facebook [[http://www.nypl.org/blog/2016/01/11/david-bowies-top-100-books a list]] of 100 of his favourite books. Some of them are well-known titles you'd expect to see (''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', ''Literature/AClockworkOrange'', ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby''), but some of them are quite obscure. What may also surprise people is the diversity of his reading - it's unlikely that many people would have expected titles like Howard Zinn's ''A People's History of the United States'' or Music/JohnCage's ''Silence: Lectures and Writing'' to be on his list, but there you are.

to:

* BookWorm: He couldn't bear to travel in TheSeventies without at least a trunk full of books, and once put a list up at Bowienet of his favorite recently-read/re-read books with recently-read / re-read books... With 51 titles on it!** In 2013 he posted to his Facebook [[http://www.nypl.org/blog/2016/01/11/david-bowies-top-100-books a list]] of 100 of his favourite books. Some of them are well-known titles you'd expect to see (''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'', ''Literature/AClockworkOrange'', ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby''), but some of them are quite obscure. What may also surprise people is the diversity of his reading - -- it's unlikely that many people would have expected titles like Howard Zinn's ''A People's History of the United States'' or Music/JohnCage's ''Silence: Lectures and Writing'' to be on his list, but there you are.

** The ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' performance of "Boys Keep Swinging" muted the second line of the couplet "When you're a boy/Other boys check you out"; in fact, the song wasn't released as a U.S. single on the basis of that line (though the video couldn't have helped its chances either  it caused a small stir in the U.K.).** The steamy {{Homage}} to ''Film/FromHereToEternity'' at the end of the video for "China Girl" was graphic enough that it had to be recut; the only home video release that includes the original version is the ''David Bowie  Video 45'' VHS from 1983.

to:

** The ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' performance of "Boys Keep Swinging" muted the second line of the couplet "When you're a boy/Other boy / Other boys check you out"; in fact, the song wasn't released as a U.S. single on the basis of that line (though the video couldn't have helped its chances either  -- it caused a small stir in the U.K.).** The steamy {{Homage}} to ''Film/FromHereToEternity'' at the end of the video for "China Girl" was graphic enough that it had to be recut; the only home video release that includes the original version is the ''David Bowie  -- Video 45'' VHS from 1983.

** The filmed-but-unreleased ConceptVideo for "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell"  the title of which combines ''Music/HunkyDory'''s "Oh! You Pretty Things" and [[Music/TheStooges Iggy and the Stooges]]' "Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell" from ''Music/RawPower''  was based around Bowie encountering four of his "past selves" (The Man Who Sold the World, Ziggy Stardust, The Thin White Duke, and Pierrot) as played by life-sized, mannequin-like puppets. See below for more...

to:

** The filmed-but-unreleased ConceptVideo for "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell"  -- the title of which combines ''Music/HunkyDory'''s "Oh! You Pretty Things" and [[Music/TheStooges Iggy and the Stooges]]' "Your Pretty Face Is is Going to Hell" from ''Music/RawPower''  -- was based around Bowie encountering four of his "past selves" (The Man Who Sold the World, Ziggy Stardust, The Thin White Duke, and Pierrot) as played by life-sized, mannequin-like puppets. See below for more...

** The Hello Steve Reich remix of "Love Is Lost" quotes "Ashes to Ashes". The first and shorter of the ''two'' videos made for it features the puppet versions of The Thin White Duke and Pierrot from the aforementioned, unreleased "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" video.

to:

** The Hello Steve Reich remix of "Love Is is Lost" quotes "Ashes to Ashes". The first and shorter of the ''two'' videos made for it features the puppet versions of The Thin White Duke and Pierrot from the aforementioned, unreleased "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" video.

* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: The old woman in "God Knows I'm Good" (''Space Oddity'') decides ''just this once'' to shoplift  and merely "a tin of stewing steak" at that  figuring that God will overlook the crime. When she's caught and stopped before she can leave the shop, the apparent divine judgment causes her to collapse in fright.

to:

* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: The old woman in "God Knows I'm Good" (''Space Oddity'') decides ''just this once'' to shoplift  -- and merely "a tin of stewing steak" at that  -- figuring that God will overlook the crime. When she's caught and stopped before she can leave the shop, the apparent divine judgment causes her to collapse in fright.

* CelebrityParadox: Played with in the short story that accompanies ''1. Outside'', which is written as the diary of Detective Nathan Adler. Briefly recounting the history of the shocking performance art that paved the way for the "art-crime" fad, he notes that in TheSeventies "Bowie the singer remarked on a coupla goons who frequented the Berlin bars wearing dull surgery regalia: caps, aprons, rubber gloves and masks." No first name is given...

to:

* CelebrityParadox: Played with in the short story that accompanies ''1. Outside'', which is written as the diary of Detective Nathan Adler. Briefly recounting the history of the shocking performance art that paved the way for the "art-crime" fad, he notes that in TheSeventies "Bowie the singer remarked on a coupla goons who frequented the Berlin bars wearing dull surgery regalia: caps, Caps, aprons, rubber gloves and masks." No first name is given...

* ChristmasSpecial: Besides ''Music/BingCrosby's Merrie Olde Christmas'', he played the narrator in a new introductory sequence for ''WesternAnimation/TheSnowman'' in 1983. While the VHS and DVD releases use the original Creator/RaymondBriggs intro, most American viewers probably saw the Bowie version first, as this was what Creator/{{HBO}} aired.* ChronicallyKilledActor: He isn't hesitant to kill off his own characters in his music  poor Ziggy Stardust dies at the hands of his fans, and the protagonist in the "Jump They Say" video is DrivenToSuicide. A significant number of his film and TV characters are hustled off by TheGrimReaper as well. (In fact, ''Mr. Rice's Secret'' '''starts''' with his character dying and he's only seen in flashbacks throughout.) And if they ''live'', it probably won't be to enjoy a HappyEnding...

to:

* ChristmasSpecial: Besides ''Music/BingCrosby's ''Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas'', he played the narrator in a new introductory sequence for ''WesternAnimation/TheSnowman'' in 1983. While the VHS and DVD releases use the original Creator/RaymondBriggs intro, most American viewers probably saw the Bowie version first, as this was what Creator/{{HBO}} aired.* ChronicallyKilledActor: He isn't hesitant to kill off his own characters in his music  -- poor Ziggy Stardust dies at the hands of his fans, and the protagonist in the "Jump They Say" video is DrivenToSuicide. A significant number of his film and TV characters are hustled off by TheGrimReaper as well. (In fact, ''Mr. Rice's Secret'' '''starts''' with his character dying and he's only seen in flashbacks throughout.) And if they ''live'', it probably won't be to enjoy a HappyEnding...

* ConceptAlbum: These make up a significant portion of his 1970-76 output. Beyond this, he invented quite a few [[Characters/DavidBowie characters/personas]] over the years for his work. And that's not even including his various film characters, such as [[Film/TheManWhoFellToEarth Thomas Jerome Newton]] and [[Film/{{Labyrinth}} Jareth]].* ConceptVideo: A favorite trope of his from the turn of TheEighties onward  see "Look Back in Anger", "Ashes to Ashes" (though its concept is vague enough that it overlaps with SurrealMusicVideo), "China Girl", "Day-In Day-Out", "Jump They Say", "Thursday's Child", etc. His contributions to the medium made him one of the original recipients of the Creator/{{MTV}} Video Vanguard Award at the first Video Music Awards ceremony in 1984, and his only competitive Grammy win was in 1985 for Best Short Form Music Video (''Jazzin' for Blue Jean'').

to:

* ConceptAlbum: These make up a significant portion of his 1970-76 output. Beyond this, he invented quite a few [[Characters/DavidBowie characters/personas]] characters / personas]] over the years for his work. And that's not even including his various film characters, such as [[Film/TheManWhoFellToEarth Thomas Jerome Newton]] and [[Film/{{Labyrinth}} Jareth]].* ConceptVideo: A favorite trope of his from the turn of TheEighties onward  -- see "Look Back in Anger", "Ashes to Ashes" (though its concept is vague enough that it overlaps with SurrealMusicVideo), "China Girl", "Day-In Day-Out", "Jump They Say", "Thursday's Child", etc. His contributions to the medium made him one of the original recipients of the Creator/{{MTV}} Video Vanguard Award at the first Video Music Awards ceremony in 1984, and his only competitive Grammy win was in 1985 for Best Short Form Music Video (''Jazzin' for Blue Jean'').

** "Fame '90" was the "new" song included on ''Changesbowie'', a 1990 GreatestHitsAlbum. The title refers back to the greatest hits albums Bowie released in 1976 and '81, respectively  ''Changesonebowie'' and ''Changestwobowie''  which this one superseded. The cover has a photo montage of bits of Bowie's studio album covers from 1969-80 surrounding the close-up of him that ''Changesonebowie'' used. From there, the Sound+Vision Tour program's cover features a photo montage patterned after the ''Changesbowie'' cover  but all the photos are of then-present day Bowie, and in the central photo he approximates his '76 pose.

to:

** "Fame '90" was the "new" song included on ''Changesbowie'', a 1990 GreatestHitsAlbum. The title refers back to the greatest hits albums Bowie released in 1976 and '81, respectively  -- ''Changesonebowie'' and ''Changestwobowie''  -- which this one superseded. The cover has a photo montage of bits of Bowie's studio album covers from 1969-80 surrounding the close-up of him that ''Changesonebowie'' used. From there, the Sound+Vision Tour program's cover features a photo montage patterned after the ''Changesbowie'' cover  -- but all the photos are of then-present day Bowie, and in the central photo he approximates his '76 pose.

** The "Little Wonder" video incorporates a Ziggy Stardust lookalike into its action, while in a more subtle example the young fellow in the Union Jack coat looks suspiciously like Bowie did when he first started recording in the mid-1960s.

to:

** The "Little Wonder" video incorporates a Ziggy Stardust lookalike into its action, while in a more subtle example the young fellow in the Union Jack coat looks suspiciously like Bowie did when he first started recording in the mid-1960s.mid-1960's.

* CostumePorn: His GlamRock period had a lot of this, but it turns up later too  from his Pierrot outfit in the "Ashes to Ashes" video to his UnlimitedWardrobe in ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' to his ''Earthling''-era, Alexander [=McQueen=]-designed frock coats. In-story, Screamin' Lord Byron's onstage look in ''Jazzin' for Blue Jean'' is all about this.* TheCoverChangesTheMeaning: The title track of ''Tonight'' is a cover of an Iggy Pop number he co-wrote minus the opening that establishes that the sweetheart the singer is addressing is dying of a drug overdose, turning it from a {{teenage death song|s}} into a straightforward, optimistic love song (and duet with Tina Turner).

to:

* CostumePorn: His GlamRock period had a lot of this, but it turns up later too  -- from his Pierrot outfit in the "Ashes to Ashes" video to his UnlimitedWardrobe in ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' to his ''Earthling''-era, Alexander [=McQueen=]-designed frock coats. In-story, Screamin' Lord Byron's onstage look in ''Jazzin' for Blue Jean'' is all about this.* TheCoverChangesTheMeaning: The title track of ''Tonight'' is a cover of an Iggy Pop number he co-wrote minus co-wrote... Minus the opening that establishes that the sweetheart the singer is addressing is dying of a drug overdose, turning it from a {{teenage death song|s}} into a straightforward, optimistic love song (and duet with Tina Turner).

** ''Tonight'' -- "Neighborhood Threat" and "Tonight" (Iggy Pop), "God Only Knows" (Music/TheBeachBoys), "I Keep Forgettin'" (Chuck Jackson) [[note]] the high number of covers was the result of writer's block on Bowie's part[[/note]]

to:

** ''Tonight'' -- "Neighborhood Threat" and "Tonight" (Iggy Pop), "God Only Knows" (Music/TheBeachBoys), "I Keep Forgettin'" (Chuck Jackson) [[note]] the high number of covers was the result of writer's block on Bowie's part[[/note]]part [[/note]]

** Other Crapsack Worlds appear in the songs "Scream Like a Baby", "Bombers", "Oh! You Pretty Things", "Sons of the Silent Age" (the lyrics that aren't a {{Silly Love Song|s}}) and the album ''1. Outside'', and possibly "All The Madmen," though that one's subject to AmbiguousSituation (is the [[UnreliableNarrator narrator]] mad or the outside world?).* CreatorThumbprint: Apocalypses, dystopias, cocaine, mental instability, alienation, celestial imagery, and science fiction imagery/subject matter turn up again and again. ''TheOnion'''s article "[[http://www.theonion.com/articles/nasa-launches-david-bowie-concept-mission%2C2907/ NASA Launches David Bowie Concept Mission]]" is built around references to his "spacier" work, and mentions other common subjects of his when it notes that "the mission will primarily study paranoia, decadence, and the fluidity of sexual identity in a zero-gravity environment". There is also a reflective, often melancholy bent to his work from ''hours...'' through ''Reality''.* Creator/TheCriterionCollection: Appears in three films that have made it into this august series: ''Film/TheManWhoFellToEarth'' (also participated in the DVDCommentary for it), ''Film/MerryChristmasMrLawrence'', and ''Film/TheLastTemptationOfChrist''. He also figures into the special features on the ''Film/LaJetee'' disc via a French [=TV=] excerpt that looks at how the "Jump They Say" video directly homages that ShortFilm, and another Criterion title, ''Film/TheLifeAquaticWithSteveZissou'', has a soundtrack featuring [[Main/TranslatedCoverVersion translated cover versions]] of his songs.* DarkerAndEdgier[=/=]LighterAndSofter: His albums alternate between these a lot. ''Space Oddity'' -> ''[[DarkerAndEdgier The Man Who Sold The World]]'' -> ''[[LighterAndSofter Hunky Dory]]'' is one example -- though ''Hunky Dory'' only counts as lighter musically, as lyrically it's incredibly dark.

to:

** Other Crapsack Worlds appear in the songs "Scream Like a Baby", "Bombers", "Oh! You Pretty Things", "Sons of the Silent Age" (the lyrics that aren't a {{Silly Love Song|s}}) and the album ''1. Outside'', and possibly "All The the Madmen," though that one's subject to AmbiguousSituation (is the [[UnreliableNarrator narrator]] mad or the outside world?).* CreatorThumbprint: Apocalypses, dystopias, cocaine, mental instability, alienation, celestial imagery, and science fiction imagery/subject imagery / subject matter turn up again and again. ''TheOnion'''s ''Website/TheOnion'''s article "[[http://www.theonion.com/articles/nasa-launches-david-bowie-concept-mission%2C2907/ NASA Launches David Bowie Concept Mission]]" is built around references to his "spacier" work, and mentions other common subjects of his when it notes that "the mission will primarily study paranoia, decadence, and the fluidity of sexual identity in a zero-gravity environment". There is also a reflective, often melancholy bent to his work from ''hours...'' through ''Reality''.* Creator/TheCriterionCollection: Appears in three films that have made it into this august series: ''Film/TheManWhoFellToEarth'' (also participated in the DVDCommentary for it), ''Film/MerryChristmasMrLawrence'', and ''Film/TheLastTemptationOfChrist''. He also figures into the special features on the ''Film/LaJetee'' disc via a French [=TV=] TV excerpt that looks at how the "Jump They Say" video directly homages that ShortFilm, and another Criterion title, ''Film/TheLifeAquaticWithSteveZissou'', has a soundtrack featuring [[Main/TranslatedCoverVersion [[TranslatedCoverVersion translated cover versions]] of his songs.* DarkerAndEdgier[=/=]LighterAndSofter: DarkerAndEdgier / LighterAndSofter: His albums alternate between these a lot. ''Space Oddity'' -> ''[[DarkerAndEdgier The Man Who Sold The World]]'' -> ''[[LighterAndSofter Hunky Dory]]'' is one example -- though ''Hunky Dory'' only counts as lighter musically, as lyrically it's incredibly dark.

** With regards to his stage personas in TheSeventies, the flamboyant, messianic Ziggy Stardust was followed by the variants of Aladdin Sane and Halloween Jack (''Music/DiamondDogs'')...and then came the depths of darkness with The Thin White Duke.* DeathByTransceiver: "Space Oddity".

to:

** With regards to his stage personas in TheSeventies, the flamboyant, messianic Ziggy Stardust was followed by the variants of Aladdin Sane and Halloween Jack (''Music/DiamondDogs'')...and And then came the depths of darkness with The Thin White Duke.* DeathByTransceiver: "Space Oddity".Oddity":

* DeliberatelyMonochrome: "Wild Is the Wind", "The Drowned Girl", [[SplashOfColor most]] of the non-film clip portions of "Absolute Beginners" and "As the World Falls Down", and "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)". "China Girl" and "Loving the Alien" alternate between color and black-and-white scenes.

to:

* DeliberatelyMonochrome: "Wild Is is the Wind", "The Drowned Girl", [[SplashOfColor most]] of the non-film clip portions of "Absolute Beginners" and "As the World Falls Down", and "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)". "China Girl" and "Loving the Alien" alternate between color and black-and-white scenes.

* DoorstopBaby: The protagonist of "Day-In Day-Out" starts this way...and life does not, it is strongly implied ''can not'', get better for her as an adult unless she indulges in shady behavior. Even then, happiness is only fleeting.* DoubleMeaningTitle: "D.J." has a notorious one -- the letters can stand for ''deejay''...or ''David Jones''. Realizing this makes the song and its video, about the breakdown of a StepfordSmiler who has no life beyond what he plays, that much more disturbing.

to:

* DoorstopBaby: The protagonist of "Day-In Day-Out" starts this way...and And life does not, it is strongly implied ''can not'', get better for her as an adult unless she indulges in shady behavior. Even then, happiness is only fleeting.* DoubleMeaningTitle: "D.J." has a notorious one -- the letters can stand for ''deejay''...or Or ''David Jones''. Realizing this makes the song and its video, about the breakdown of a StepfordSmiler who has no life beyond what he plays, that much more disturbing.

* DudeLooksLikeALady: In the very late '60s/early '70s, thanks to his long, flowing locks. See the aforementioned ''The Man Who Sold the World'' cover and the back cover of ''Hunky Dory''.

to:

* DudeLooksLikeALady: In the very late '60s/early '60s / early '70s, thanks to his long, flowing locks. See the aforementioned ''The Man Who Sold the World'' cover and the back cover of ''Hunky Dory''.

* AmbiguouslyBi: Some of his identities have been bi, but the man himself? [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie#Sexuality Probably, but it's complicated.]]

to:

* AmbiguouslyBi: Some of his identities have been bi, but the man himself? He was probably at least bicurious or "heteroflexible," [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bowie#Sexuality Probably, but it's complicated.]]complicated]], especially due to Bowie's repeated FlipFlopOfGod on the matter.

Website/TheOnion's A.V. Club has an excellent [[http://www.avclub.com/articles/david-bowie,47556/ Primer]] article that runs down his musical career, and Radio Music/{{Soulwax}}'s short film [[https://vimeo.com/53207758 Dave]] is an excellent introduction to Bowie as well, with the audio consisting solely of numerous songs by Bowie and the visuals recreating his album covers and music videos.

to:

Website/TheOnion's A.V. Club has an excellent [[http://www.avclub.com/articles/david-bowie,47556/ com/article/david-bowie-47556 Primer]] article that runs down his musical career, and Radio Music/{{Soulwax}}'s short film [[https://vimeo.com/53207758 Dave]] is an excellent introduction to Bowie as well, with the audio consisting solely of numerous songs by Bowie and the visuals recreating his album covers and music videos.

Community

Tropes HQ

TVTropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. Privacy Policy